Apparently former Braves players who never really hit all that much are the new inefficiency when it comes to batting coaches: Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mariners have interviewed former Brave and — more importantly for our purposes — former Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson for their opening at hitting coach. I guess they’re not all that interested in former Brave and former Mariner Jim Presley like the O’s are. A shame, really.

For what it’s worth, Thompson got a lot of credit for being a good hitting coach when the Phillies used to beat the hell out of the ball, and then got fired when they stopped doing so in the middle of the season. Of course, a new hitting coach didn’t help them figure out how to hit the hell out of the ball again, so maybe — and I know I’m talikin’ crazy here — the hitting coach doesn’t really matter all that much.

Of course, we know what happens next: the Mariners hire Thompson, and they improve. Which is inevitable, because they just posted one of the worst offensive seasons in modern memory. When they do, Thompson — or whoever gets the job — will be praised as some kind of Svengali and regression to the mean will be ignored like a middle child. Typical.

Hernandez, 18, was signed by the Angels as an international free agent out of Venezuela in July 2015. This past year, in rookie ball, Hernandez posted a 2.64 ERA with a 44/22 K/BB ratio in 44 1/3 innings. MLB Pipeline rated him the Angels’ 24th-best prospect.

Montgomery, 23, was selected by the Angels in the eighth round of the 2016 draft. Between Single-A Burlington, High-A Inland Empire, and Double-A Mobile, Montgomery batted an aggregate .271/.358/.413 with eight home runs, 38 RBI, 62 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases in 434 plate appearances. MLB Pipeline rated him as the Angels’ 20th-best prospect.

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Angels will acquire second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Tigers. It is not known yet what the Tigers will receive in return. Kinsler had to waive his no-trade clause in order for the deal to happen.

Kinsler, 35, hit .236/.313/.412 with 22 home runs, 52 RBI, 90 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases in 613 plate appearances for the Tigers this past season. He’s in the final year of his contract and will earn $10 million for the 2018 season.

The Angels were certainly looking to upgrade at second base and did so with Kinsler. They were also reportedly interested in Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies.